Arrows and Dragons and Heartstrings
by CharlieHorse98
Summary: After a treaty between the vikings and highlanders, Merida gets a chance to learn how to kill dragons. But her mother still has expectations for her and a husband must be chosen. Merida and Hiccup help each other realize that they are more than what is expected, and greater than can be defined.
1. Chapter 1 (Intro: Merida)

Merida whirled around the mast of the ship. Her wiled hair went flying in all directions and her blue dress flapped in the breeze. She let out a giddy laugh as she began to crawl up the post to the bird's nest.

"Merida! Do be careful! What would your mother do to me if you fell and broke your neck!" her father called, laughter edging into his voice as swung around the mast as she climbed past the birds nest onto the post that held the sail. She could see it, the island of Berk. This was where her next great adventure would await. She would join the Viking teens, along with a handful of highlander teens, in dragon training. Berk was the only island that was known to have dragons, but that didn't mean that the training wouldn't come in handy. And part of the treaty between the highlanders and Vikings was that the highlanders were given the right to learn if they so wished. Merida's father had fought hard for Merida to be allowed to go to the training. According to her mother "A lady does not fight dragons" but eventually her father had won, saying that she needed a good activity to release all her energy. That worked for Merida, so long as she got to kill a few dragons it was all the same!

"Merida, get down before your mother see's you!" Her father's voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back to reality. She swung down onto the mast and slid down, her fire red hair disheveled from the wind. She could barely contain her excitement as she looked at the island as it slowly began to consume the horizon.

"What if a dragon should see our ships?" Merida wondered aloud.

"Well, then we are all dead," her father let out a hearty laugh, but then turned to face his daughter "dragons rarely fly in the day, they prefer the element of surprise. Nights are what you should worry most about." Merida nodded, but had stopped listening. She was so close; she could feel the world waiting for her. Her father sighed, knowing that her mind was elsewhere.

"Dad... Thanks." He didn't respond. He knew she didn't want him to. It was a thanks that she had begrudgingly given. Not because she wasn't grateful, but because she didn't know how. She was stubborn, like his wife, and didn't always know how to let others help her. That made it hard for her to admit when she needed help. So the Bear-king just smiled and nodded.

"Why don't I go see how your mother is doing with the boys…" Fergus said as he began to trudge below deck.


	2. Chapter 2 (Intro: Hiccup)

Useless. That was the word. Hiccup was useless. He was too scrawny. He was too clumsy. He was too _unviking_. Everyone knew it just by looking at him, and because of that, he never got the chance to prove himself. He scuffled along towards the street, his hair draped in front of his eyes as he hunched over himself. He kicked a pebble with his fur boots. Soon the highlanders would be coming, just another group of kids to make fun of him. Finally he had reached his destination. He pushed open the door to the blacksmith.

"Oy! 'Bout time yeh got here!" Gobber said from under a pile of metal. Hiccup shrugged as he tied on his apron and begun pumping he flame. "What's got you all silent?" Gobber continued as Hiccup added wood to the stove.

"Nothing. I'm just so excited to make a fool out of myself in front of the highlanders."

"What? Those lot? They wont be here long enough to remember your name. Honestly, the moment they see a real dragon, they will swim back home." Gobber let out a hearty chuckle and hiccup managed a small smile. Gobber was the only person that hiccup considered a friend, and that was a bit sad because the Viking was his mentor and father's closest friend. Berk wasn't known for its friendly teenagers, it was known for its hard warriors, which meant hard kids were encouraged. Kids like Hiccup weren't.

"Hey Gobber…" Gobber turned, "I just… Do you need a hand?" Gobber smiled and nodded. Hiccup didn't need to finish, Gobber knew. Hiccup smiled and grabbed the hammer that attached to Gobbers arm. The Viking took it and the two of them began work on the orders of weapons that had begun to pile up.


	3. Chapter 3 Hiccup's Guide to Berk

Hiccup was expected to be at the docks when the Highlanders arrived. But Hiccup was expected to do and be a lot of things, and he was known to disappoint. Obviously he couldn't show up on time, that would be too easy. He had to scramble down at the last minute. He had to show up out of breath and slightly disheveled looking. Stoick the Vast sighed. He hadn't really expected anything else from his son. Snotlout smirked, as though he had won something. And maybe he had, after all he was the embodiment of what a young Viking boy should be. He was also Hiccups cousin, making it that much worse. Hiccup pretended to ignore it, that was what he always did. Instead he began watching the passengers unload from the ship. He watched as three young redheaded boys ran off the boat and after a plate of pastries being carried by a handmaid. He nodded to the nobles and their sons, trying to suppress a smile, as they shoved each other, each trying to get off first. He bowed as the king stepped off, his wife on his arm. A young girl, about his age, followed them. She had a mane of curly red hair. She radiated power, she glowed with it. A quiver was strapped to her back and she carried a bow in her hands. He figured she must be the princess, but as he watched her, he grew less certain. She certainly didn't act like one. Instead of walking off the plank that attached the boat to the dock, she stood on the ledge of the boat and jumped. She landed on all fours almost directly in front of Hiccup. He stumbled backwards a bit. She hopped up and looked Hiccup directly in the eyes, as if she were studying him. Her blue eyes pierced through his green eyes. She seemed to be making a decision, though he had no idea what it was.

"Hi! I'm Merida." Her accent was heavy, and it fit her perfectly.

"Erm… Hi I'm, uh, Hiccup…" He stumbled over his words and couldn't quite seem to meet her eyes. But she seemed pleased with that answer.

"Well Hiccup, when I can get free of my mother, you have to show me around the island." He nodded, unsure what to say. Why was this girl talking to him, not that he minded but he wasn't exactly the type of person that girls are lining up to talk to… or anyone for that matter. Hiccup watched as Merida weaved her way through the crowed and up towards the town.

Later that night, when Stoick and Hiccup sat down to eat, Hiccup noticed his father's peculiar behavior. Stoick would look like he was bout to say something, and then he would stop, and then he would try again, and then stop. Hiccup began to think his father was trying to impersonate a fish. Finally Stoick seemed to find the right words,

"Son, I think that… what I mean is… The princess seemed to take an interest in you and…"

"Whoa, Dad no. She jumped off the ship and landed in front of me. She probably just didn't want to make it awkward so she struck up a conversation and-" Hiccup was interrupted by a knock on the door. Hiccup pushed back his chair and went to open the door. Merida stood impatiently outside.

"Can I help you?" Hiccup questioned, not sure of what to make of the situation.

"I said when I got free of my mother you had to show me around… Well I got free." Hiccup was entranced by the rhythm of her voice. The way the words melted together to embody her emotion, it was incredible.

"Oh well, it's dark…" Hiccup said, as though the answer was obvious. Merida just stared at him. "Dragons and darkness… not really supposed to go out…" Merida had begun to pout, "Well maybe if we stayed in the town…" Merida grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the house. Hiccup had just enough time to shout to his father that he was taking Merida out to the town and would be back soon.

Merida walked with her hands clasped behind her back, her shoulders thrown back causing her to stand tall, and her hair, there just weren't words. Merida skipped in front of Hiccup, blocking his path.

"I have a question for you Hiccup," Hiccup nodded for her to continue, "You don't look like I would expect a Viking to," She seemed to notice that he had taken offense, "Not that that's a bad thing! I was just wondering, are you lonely?" The question startled Hiccup. He had been listening to her accent again, she said I like Ah and wondering like woundrin'. Her speech was intoxicating. But the question snapped him back into reality.

"Yes," was all he said. She nodded like that was enough of an answer.

"I'm lonely too…" she trailed off.

"I suspected for different reasons though."

"I'm unapproachable. I'm a lady, the princess, and I could kill you with my bow in a heartbeat."

"I'm a sorry excuse for a Viking. I can't fight dragons, I'm not tough like the other children, and I'm scrawny." She laughed slightly at the face he made. He smiled, he liked her laugh, it was wild and free.

"That's why I noticed you. I thought, he knows what it's like to be alone." She turned so that her back was to him. "So tell me about Berk." The sudden change of subject startled him.

"This, is Berk…" Hiccup said with a swooping gesture of my arms. A tone of sarcasm entered his voice as he continued "It's twelve day North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery." Merida giggled at this. "My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have..." Just then Hiccup was interrupted by the blast of a loud horn. Hiccup grabbed Merida's arm and pulled her into the nearest building. He opened the door to see if his fears were correct. They were. "Dragons" he finished as a burst of flame shot out at hem. He slammed the door just in time. Hiccup looked up at Merida who was grinning. He shook his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her out the now blackened door. Merida was laughing.

"Why don't you just leave?" She said as a smile played at her lips.

"Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"We have stubbornness issues…" She laughed like she was having the time of her life, dodging fireballs and falling buildings.

"So Hiccup, I have another question!"

"What is it?" they were shouting just to be heard at this point.

"What's with the weird names?"

"Oh, well it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that…" they slid under a falling building as Hiccup said this; her hair seemed for once blending in with the surroundings. They finally reached the blacksmith after an interesting run-in with Hiccup's father…

"Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off." Gobber said as he worked furiously.

"Who me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this…" I tried to strike an intimidating pose but all I got was a laugh out of both members of my company.

"They need toothpicks, don't they?" Gobber prodded.

"The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well...littler." Merida stifled a laugh at his correction. Gobber was shouting directions to another Viking as Merida watched a building fall.

"See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses." She nodded, as though entranced by all that was happening around her.

"Hey, who are they?" Merida said pointing to a group of teenagers.

"Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And Astrid. Their job is so much cooler. Hey Gobber can we go out, please. We need to make our marks."

"Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places. And I don't know how the queen would feel if I sent her daughter into dangerous combat on her first day here." Merida and Hiccup both sighed.

"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date."

"You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe..."

"I can shoot my bow!" Merida chimed in. Gobber ignored her.

"You can't even throw one of these!" He indicated to a rope with lead balls attached to the end.

"I don't have to! This will do it for me!" Just then my machine chose that moment to shoot a Viking in the head. "Mild calibration issue!"

"Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all... this…"

"You just pointed to all of me."

"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you."

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw...Vikingness contained. There will be consequences!" Gobber tosses him a sword. Merida nodded in mock approval. Hiccup shot her a "thanks for being so helpful" look. She just shrugged.

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." he took the sword and began sharpening it. Merida went over to Hiccup and began asking about the different types of dragons. Hiccup gave her the general rundown and how they could improve his statues. He ended with:

"Night fury! That's the one I'm gonna be the first to kill."

"Tonight's not your night lad, man the fort, Hiccup, they need me out there! Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." Gobber ran out and was lost in the crowed.

"We're not gonna stay here, are we?" Merida questioned, mischief playing at her face.

"Nope. Help me with this." he said, gesturing to his large contraption. Merida helped him push the contraption outside, but was distracted by her three brothers who were currently provoking a dragon. Merida ran off to get them and Hiccup was left to lug the large contraption up the hill, by himself.


	4. Chapter 4 The Aftermath: Merida reflects

Merida sighed as she notched an arrow and sent it flying towards the dragon that her brothers were harassing. She really wanted to see what Hiccup had in mind with his contraption, but her troublesome brothers had other plans.

"Harris, Hubert, and Hamish! Get away from that beast!" Merida sent another arrow flying as she yelled at the boys. They were having to much fun to pay her any attention. Merida let out an exasperated sigh and sent another arrow flying. Why did her brothers have to be so difficult to maintain? She stormed over to her brothers, loosing arrows as she went. She scooped them up into her arm and ran off away from the dragon. She shoved the three boys into a building and went to look for Hiccup after telling her brothers to stay inside. She didn't have to look long before a scream of terror echoed through the village. As she looked up, she noticed that the screamer was Hiccup, and a dragon was chasing him… a rather large one at that. She watched in complete horror as Hiccup was nearly burnt to a crisp. Thankfully a Viking managed to defeat the creature. Merida was about to run out to Hiccup, but a building fell and gave her pause. She slowly worked her way towards Hiccup, and as she got closer she began to realize that Hiccup and the Viking who had saved him were fighting. As Merida reached the two she caught the tail end of the argument.

"Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" The man asked in an exasperated tone, the same one Merida's mother often used with her.

"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad." Merida was hanging off to the side now. The entire village had gone silent and was listening to this conversation.

"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them." Stoick seemed to have noticed Merida and the rest of the village watching. He turned to Gobber, "Get these two back to the house." He said with a gesture to Merida and Hiccup. Gobber nodded. As the teens were lead away Merida heard Stoick grumble something about cleaning up Hiccup's mess. She noticed Hiccup slump forward a little more. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she couldn't. Just then the group of teenagers Merida had asked about earlier emerged from the crowed.

"Quite the performance." The one called Tuffnut said with a smug grin.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Merida was pretty sure this one was Snotlout…

"Thank you, thank you. I was trying, so... I really did hit one…" Hiccup's defence was weak as he shuffled off.

The sun was peaking up over the mountains by the time the trio had reached Hiccup's house. Hiccup had been going on about how he had hit a dragon and Gobber kept making snide remarks, which Hiccup mostly ignored.

"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." Hiccup depend his voice as he tried to impersonate his father, "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This is a talking fish bone." Merida stifled a giggle, which Hiccup acknowledged with a halfhearted grin.

"You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." Gobber's attempt at sympathy was overlooked by the crude manner in which he had stated the obvious.

"Thank you, for summing that up." Hiccup replied sarcastically as he began to push the door to his house open.

"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Merida nodded in agreement with Gobber.

"I just want to be one of you guys." Was all Hiccup said before he went inside. Gobber sighed as he turned around, leading Merida to the house her family was staying in. Merida gave one last look over her shoulder and noticed the shape of a young boy slipping through the trees. Merida smiled to herself as she walked forward.

"I recon this isn't the first time this has happened." Merida attempted as she trudged behind Gobber.

"Wasn't the first, and wont be the last. Hiccup is just not a dragon killer. The sooner he learns that, the longer our buildings will last." Merida thought back to what he had said earlier.

"Maybe he just wants to belong…" She mumble, half to herself.

"What's that?"

"Nothing…" They walked in silence the rest of the way, giving Merida's mind time to wander. She had been drawn to Hiccup, she wasn't sure why, but maybe it was because she sensed a familiarity. In any case, he was sweet. She was intrigued by the way he talked, it was a slurred speech, but cute. It accented his essence. All Merida knew for sure was that she liked him. He was kind, she could tell. So the idea of him being a killer just didn't fit in her mind. But maybe it didn't have to, after all Hiccup was a Viking and he would have expectations.


	5. Chapter 5 Hiccup's Change of Heart

**Authors note: Okay, I think we can all agree that that last chapter sucked. Like I'm not even going to try and explain myself, it was just bad. I thought about taking it down, but I decided not to because I'm to lazy to re-write that entire chapter from Hiccup's POV. Instead I wont try and tell ****_HICCUP'S_**** story through ****_MERIDA_****. I think that was the main problem, because right now I want to focus on Hiccup but I don't want to abandon Merida…. I don't know… We will see.**

Hiccup was rather embarrassed about the whole 'confront my son about his uselessness in front of the entire village' thing. But he knew that if he got to that Night Furry, he would be able to reteam himself. As he dashed out the back of his house, a grin had plastered itself to his face. This was it, this was HIS DAY! He couldn't wait to get started. He would make short work of this dragon.

But as it turned out, looking for a dragon that had crash-landed was harder than expected.

"Uggh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon." Hiccup mumbled to himself as he furiously scratched out the map he had been using to keep track of where he had been. Hiccup swatted at a low hanging branch as he walked forward. When the branch snapped back, hitting him on the face, Hiccup was knocked out of his bitter thoughts and began to take in his surroundings. In front of him there was a broken tree and a large gash in the land. Hiccup followed the trail, excitement bubbling up inside him. Hiccup gasped as he realized that his contraption had brought down this mighty beast that lay in front of him.

"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything." Hiccup was giddy with excitement. He struck a victorious pose as if to prove, to no one in particular, that he was capable of such a feat. "I have brought down this mighty beast!" The dragon shifted under Hiccup's weight, causing him to stumble. Once he had regained his footing, Hiccup pulled out his dagger; poised over the dragon he was about to cut the beasts heart out. Hiccup began to waver on his resolve.

"I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking…" He paused, wavering on the brink of a decision. Then with ferocity in his voice he cried "I am a Viking!" He was about to lower the blade, when he stopped and looked at the dragon. Not a glimpse, but a proper, in-depth, look. The dragon was scared. And he couldn't, no he wouldn't, take this life. His hands would not be stained with the blood of another yet.

"I did this…" The realization coursed through Hiccup and he slumped forward. In a moment of rushed decisions, he cut the rope and freed the dragon. The rope hadn't even touched the ground before the dragon had Hiccup pinned to a rock. Hiccup looked into the eyes of the beast, searching for, well he didn't know what exactly. And then the dragon released him. Hiccup watched as the Night Fury stumbled through the air.

Hiccup did not faint. He went out from a lack of oxygen due to the fact that he had forgotten how to breathe. Fear had a way of doing that to some people. When Hiccup regained consciousness it was late. He felt the need to sneak back into the village, and made a valiant attempt at avoiding his father before he was caught on the was up to his room.

"I need to speak with you too, son." Hiccup cringed before attempting to casually walk down the stairs.

"I've decided I don't want to fight dragons!" Hiccup blurted out at the same time his father said,

"I think it's time you learn to fight dragons." There was an awkward pause as the two looked at each other, waiting to see who would begin again. Then the pair tried to offer the other the chance to speak first. Finally Stoick began.

"Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning."

"Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home-" Hiccup was cut off as Stoick handed him a large battle axe.

"-You'll need this."

"I don't want to fight dragons." Hiccup interjected.

"Come on. Yes, you do!"

"Rephrase. Dad I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons." Stoick tried to feign enthusiasm, but his face showed that he didn't truly believe the words he spoke.

"No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't."

"It's time Hiccup." Stoick's voice took a more serious tone, but Hiccup's panicked mind skipped over it.

"Can you not hear me?!"

"This is serious son! When you carry this axe... you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of... This…"

"You just gestured to all of me." Hiccup replied rather monotone.

"Deal?" Stoick pressed

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided." Exasperation rose within Hiccup as he said this.

"DEAL?!" Stoick asked, rather aggressively.

"Deal…" Hiccup sighed.

"Good. Train hard. I'll be back…Probably."

"And I'll be here. Maybe."

Hiccup sat on his bed, staring out into space. He dreaded what was about to come. He wondered if anyone would notice him missing. Doubtful. Maybe Merida, but she would have no problem fitting in once everyone realized how good she was with her bow. Then he would probably lose his only friend. He rolled over onto his side, trying to muster up the strength to head out. He was aroused by a knock at the door. He sighed as he shuffled forwards. Before he could even reach the door, it swung open and he was staring at the living fire that was Merida's hair.

"Dragon training!" she cried as she leapt through his doorway. "Come on, don't want to be late on our first day!"

"Yah… about that…"

"Don't tell me you are ditching? Isn't that just what those other kids will expect? And you aren't going to leave me to the company of Snotlout." Merida made a disgusted face as she said the name, like it left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. To be fair, it probably had.

"Yah well no I'm just not-" Merida had grabbed Hiccup's axe and was pulling him out the door before he could finish constructing the thought.

"Oh bye the way," she called over her shoulder "My mother had to go back to the highlands with the boys to prepare for some big event, and my father went off with all the other Vikings, so can I stay with you?" she didn't even wait for a response. "Great, because I told my parents that I had already asked and that it was fine, they were going to make me leave if I didn't have a place to stay so lucky you, you get a new room mate!"

"I'll try to contain my joy." Hiccup said sarcastically as a smile played at his lips. 'This should be interesting' was all Hiccup thought before Merida dragged him into the arena were he would have to fight to stay alive. Oh and there were dragons.


	6. Chapter 6 Training (Merida Transition)

Merida was having the time of her life. She and Hiccup had made it on time to training, though they had received a less-than-warm reception, and been given the run-down of what the training sessions would include. She had barely been able to stand still as she listened to Gobber. She had been disappointed to learn that she would not be allowed to use her bow and arrow every time (they wanted her to have a basic understanding of all weapons). But with her shield over one arm and a sword in the other, she was flying. She dodged the dragon's attacks, she dealt blows, and she managed to catch a glimpse of Hiccup as he struggled to not die. But her streak ended when Snoutlout began (eew) Hitting on her and Astrid. He managed to distract her for just long enough that the Gronckle managed to shoot the two down, Astrid had managed to cartwheel off before the blast. She sighed as she watched from the sidelines. She had given Snoutlout a glare that had set even the toughest Scotsmen on edge, and he had backed off. She focused her attention on Hiccup. He was hopeless, but in a cute way. He couldn't hold a shield, he could barely stand under the weight of his axe, and that suited him. It made him more human.

Merida was so lost in thought, that she hadn't realized what was happening before it was too late. Astrid had left Hiccup in a corner and the Gronckle had gone nuts. He had shot at Hiccup. Then Hiccup, in all his stupidity, had rushed after the shield. The Gronckle was drawn to the movement, and in a flash had pinned Hiccup down. Merida watched in horror as the beast was about to launch a fireball at Hiccup. But at the last minute Gobber used his hooked arm to pull the dragon off Hiccup and send it back to its cave.

"Remember... a dragon will always, always, go for the kill." Merida rushed to Hiccup's side as Gobber pulled him up to his feet. Merida threw her arms around Hiccup, and squeezed him tight.

"Don't you go off and scare me like that!" Merida said as she shot a dirty look to Astrid. Astrid just shrugged it off, making Merida seethe. Merida grabbed Hiccup's axe from the ring floor and handed it to him. "Lets go home." Merida said with one final glance at the ring.

On the walk home Hiccup seemed distracted. She dismissed it with the thought of 'he was almost eaten by a dragon' but still it bothered her. She suppressed the urge to pry it out of him, deciding that would be insensitive. She let out an exasperated sigh that caused her hair in front of her face to billow out. Hiccup seemed to snap out of his pensive thoughts for a moment as he smiled at her. Well that was a start…

**_Authors note: This isn't good. Sorry but I had no idea how to write this. I needed the transition scene for training because next chapter is the big Hiccup/Toothless bonding scene but I didn't want this to be to long so it's not really a chapter, it's more transition thought~y. sorry I just couldn't get this to be any longer without it seeming pointless and a waist of time and rambling~y _**


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